Scars of the Broken Mirror: Kara's story
by Talespinner69
Summary: Kara, the older cousin of Chandler McCann, sees a number of changes in her life due to recent events. Watch as the thirteen-year-old girl, with the guidance of a certain bokken-user, navigates these changes and comes out of things okay. (Sequel to/contains spoilers for Broken Mirror: New War) (Story 1 in the 'Broken Mirror scars' anthology)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Scars of the Broken Mirror: Kara's Story

Chapter one: Life after the fact

It was a cool and crisp Autumn afternoon in Royal Woods, Michigan. The students of Royal Woods Middle School were getting out of classes for the day. Make that getting out of classes for the weekend, as it was a Friday. The sixth, seventh and eighth graders were all filing out of the school building, with some students deciding to walk home, while others waited or the bus, and a few others waited to be picked up by family.

One such RWMS student waiting to be picked up by family was Kara, a thirteen-year-old girl in RWMS's seventh grade year. Appearance wise, Kara had white hair with pale green shading near the ends, and the hair was tied into twin pigtails, with each pigtail adorned with three fairly large green beads. She wore a white capelet (with green trim) that had a light fur collar, a green long-sleeved blouse, a white frilly skirt, white stockings that reached over her knees, and green shoes. The girl's eyes were also a bright and vibrant shade of emerald green.

Kara had a lot on her mind as she waited for her mother to come pick her up from school. The first thing was that Kara's parents were in the middle of a divorce battle. When the subject of who would have custody of her was brought up, Kara voiced a strong desire for her mother to have custody of her. Kara also said that she doesn't want her father to even have visitation rights, and although such a declaration from Kara was just the fuel that her mother was hoping for to use against Kara's father, it was ultimately up to the courts to determine if Kara's father would be denied visitation rights or not.

The second thing was that, similar to Kara's mother and father, Kara's aunt and uncle were _also_ in the middle of a divorce battle. Kara's uncle had risen to a very high and favorable position in the hierarchy of the sewage treatment plant where he works, while competing against the father of Francisco, a boy in Kara's grade here at RWMS, for said position. Kara's fifth-grade cousin, Chandler, had a sort-of rivalry with Francisco, and whenever one boy did something to deface the other, the father of the boy that was defaced would be discredited.

It should be noted that not once did Francisco ever manage to one-up Chandler. There were many times where Chandler had set Francisco up, and as a result of the combined efforts of everything Chandler did, Francisco's dad lost enough face for the big head honcho over at the sewage treatment plant to give the promotion to Kara's uncle (who is Chandler's dad). Because of the promotion, Chandler's family saw a rather substantial boost in income.

…Then Chandler's dad decided to take his new-found power and authority at work for a 'test drive'. Within very short order after his promotion at work, Chandler's dad ended up firing a total of seven men. It should be noted that all seven of those men were fired for reasons that had no actual viability. This was, although no one at the time could tell, the beginning of something truly horrific.

Because of the fact that they were fired, along with _why_ they were fired, the seven men teamed up and carried out a string of domestic terrorist attacks. Using homemade bombs that they made, the seven men first attacked Royal Woods Elementary School, resulting in many deaths, at least twenty of which were children. Thankfully, a serious string of stomach flu was going around at the time, so on the day of the attack, there were nowhere near as many students at the school as there normally would be.

As it was eventually discovered, the men attacked the school in the hopes of hitting Chandler, the child of their ex-boss. If their ex-boss's child was seriously hurt, then their ex-boss would be upset. Unfortunately for the seven men, Chandler was one of the many students absent from school that day due to stomach flu. Because their first attempt to get back at their ex-boss had failed spectacularly, the seven men then tried to bomb their former workplace itself, the sewage treatment plant, in the hopes of hitting their ex-boss himself.

…However, Chandler's dad wasn't at the sewage treatment plant at the time of the attack, so that ended up failing as well. Fed up with two failed attempts in a row to get back at their ex-boss, the seven men decided, once enough heat had died down, to go as direct a route as possible; they decided to break into the home of their ex-boss, kill his family, and maybe torture the man himself before they killed him. However, that _also_ failed because their ex-boss and his wife were staying at a motel or hotel that night for some 'alone time'. Really, the only person the seven men claim to be responsible for killing is an elderly Jewish woman that Chandler's mom hired to babysit Chandler.

And this is what brings Kara to reflect upon the third thing that was on her mind; her cousin Chandler is dead. According to the autopsy, Chandler died due to cyanide poisoning. Everyone was quick to pin the blame on the seven men, even though all of them denied any responsibility. In fact, two of them claimed that when they found Chandler, he was already dead, lying on the floor in his bedroom with foam in his mouth, the kind that comes with popping a cyanide pill.

If the seven men were to be believed, then Chandler had apparently committed suicide via cyanide pill. Kara wondered if there was a chance that her younger cousin felt guilty and haunted enough by what he did to seriously consider taking his own life. Then again, Kara didn't see any signs that her cousin was contemplating taking his own life; he never had dramatic changes in mood, he never withdrew from activities he liked or from hanging out with friends, and he _certainly_ never gave away prized possessions. Also, there was no letter written by Chandler that he left behind before his death, which is something people would normally expect to find after someone had committed suicide. Was this a spur of the moment kind of deal? Maybe. Still, Kara could not help but feel that the seven men really were responsible for Chandler's death.

After the seven men were all caught and arrested (they all left prints all over the house they broke into), they ended up revealing their reasons for what they did. This prompted an investigation into Chandler's father's practices at work; although what the seven men can never be excused by anything, it's still a valid point that a lot of the horrific events that occurred here in Royal Woods over the last few months could be connected to Chandler's father's actions.

Because of Chandler's father abusing his power and authority, the elementary school was attacked, claiming more than twenty lives. Because of Chandler's father, the sewage treatment plant was also attacked, resulting in more loss of life there (exact numbers for the attack at the sewage treatment plant aren't available for some odd reason, but many estimate the loss of life to be equal to that from RWES). Because of Chandler's father, Chandler himself had died. All of this is part of the reason why Chandler's parents are getting a divorce; or, more accurately, Chandler's mother wants a divorce from her husband.

After her younger cousin's funeral last week, Kara went with her mother to a sort-of will reading to determine the distribution of Chandler's belongings. As Chandler didn't have an actual will, it was up to Chandler's mother to decide who got what. As she is the only relative of Chandler's who is in his general age group, Kara ended up getting most of his stuff. This included Chandler's Playtendo Swap system and all the games that went with it, various books, all of the money that Chandler had saved up in a small crock jar he kept in his bedroom (the money ended up totaling to a little over seven-hundred dollars), a few toys that were kept as collector's items, and some tins and two binders full of Yugioh cards. Kara didn't get any of Chandler's furniture, although for some odd reason she did get the bedsheet set that was on Chandler's bed.

Chandler's funeral, and the subsequent distribution of Chandler's possessions, was about a week ago. Now, with her younger cousin dead and buried for a solid week so far, along with the fact that her parents were in the middle of a divorce and that her aunt and uncle were also in the middle of a divorce, Kara looked up into the sky, wondering what life had in store for her now. The thirteen-year-old girl had her worries, but she was confident that-

"Hey, Kara!" an older and familiar male voice called out, cutting Kara's trail of thought off and drawing her out of her thoughts. Looking up and over in the direction the voice came from, Kara saw someone approach who she never wanted to see again.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Kara demanded more than asked, "I thought that it was made clear that you can't have contact with me for now."

"The courts haven't technically said anything about that," Kara's dad retorted, "Now come on. I'm taking you home."

Taking a step back from her father, Kara replied in cool yet neutral tone, "No."

"…Excuse me?" Kara's dad said, aching an eyebrow in response to what his daughter had said.

"You heard me," Kara replied firmly, "I told mom that I'd wait for her to come pick me up, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"And _I_ said that I was taking you home," Kara's dad replied firmly, his temper starting to rise just a bit.

"How do I know you aren't planning to take me off to wherever you're staying while the divorce is being finalized?" Kara asked, suspicion clear in he tone, "To keep me held up until I agree to see things from your point of view, and for you to have full custody rather than mom?" Taking another step back away from her father, Kara continued, "Maybe if you didn't keep forcing me into sports, I might still have had some sympathy for you."

"The hell are you talking about, Kara?" Kara's father asked, surprised to have heard that last part come out of his daughter's mouth. Hearing those words also made his temper rise a little bit more. "You love sports just as much as I do, which is why you always threw yourself into them," Kara's father said. Taking a step towards his daughter, Kara's father added with a hint of a threatening tone in his voice, "Isn't that right?"

"NO, IT'S NOT!" Kara exclaimed. The suddenness of Kara shouting like that surprised her father, making him take a step back due to recoil. "I ONLY ACTED LIKE THAT BECAUSE I KNEW FULL WELL THAT IF YOU KNEW THE TRUTH, YOU WOULD GET PISSED AND HIT ME UNTIL I FELL IN LINE WITH WHAT YOU WANTED!" Kara continued to scream, "HERE'S A NEWS FLASH FOR YOU, DAD; I FUCKING HATE SPORTS!"

The last few words not only snapped Kara's father back to reality, but it made him stride forward towards Kara. Grabbing his daughter by her right wrist, Kara's father said in a threatening tone, "You do _NOT_ speak to me like that, young lady. Now then, you are going to come with me, and you are going to like it."

"LET ME GO!" Kara screamed as she struggled to get out of her father's grasp.

"Quit struggling, Kara," Kara's father scolded in a pissed-off tone, "Don't make me-"

"HEY!" a male voice called out, cutting Kara's father off; although the voice's owner was clearly younger than Kara's father, the voice's owner was still older than Kara herself. Looking over, both Kara and her dad saw three high schoolers, two girls and a boy, along with three students from RWMS, another two girls and a boy. Kara recognized the two girls from her school as the Loud sisters Lynn and Luan; Kara also recognized the boy from her school as Alphonse Ace. However, Kara had no idea who the high schoolers were, although she suspected that they were older siblings of Lynn's, Luan's and Alphonse's.

The high school boy of the group, the owner of the voice that had called out, pointed at Kara's father in a suspicious and accusatory manner. "What do you think you're doing with that student there?" the high school boy asked, glaring suspiciously at Kara's father.

"Buzz off," Kara's father scolded at the high school boy in a threatening tone, "My daughter here is just being temperamental and refuses to come home with me. Besides which, this is none of your business, young man, so why don't you, your friends and those younger kids there do yourselves a favor and make yourselves scarce?"

The aura of intimidation that Kara's father was giving off, plus his threatening tone, did nothing to shake the high school boy. If anything, it made him more suspicious of Kara's father. Taking a step towards the scene, the high school boy replied in a cool yet neutral tone, "It becomes everyone's business when a grown man is struggling with a younger girl who is screaming words to the effect of 'go away' or 'leave me alone'."

"Aggro's right," one of the high school girls said in a suspicious tone to Kara's father, "Because even if you're this girl's parent, this literally looks like a kidnapping in progress. Who's to say that we won't-"

"What's going on here?" an adult voice called out, prompting everyone to turn and see two school security officers come walking up.

"I'm just trying to pick my daughter up from school, and those little brats are giving me trouble!" Kara's father said while pointing to the high schoolers, Lynn, Luan and Alphonse.

"No, he's not!" Kara said to the security officers, "My parents are in the middle of getting divorced, and my mom's going to get full custody of me, and that pisses my dad off so he's trying to take me with him by force!"

"Alright, alright," the second security officer said as he took a walkie-talkie off his belt, "We're going to have to call this in. All this talk about divorce and forced taking is leaving me a little wary about just letting things go on their own." As the two school security officers went about handling the situation, Kara's father looked a mix of annoyed and pissed. Since he was forced to let go of Kara, the thirteen-year-old girl backed as far away from her father as possible, backing over to where her schoolmates and the high schoolers were standing.

* * *

When Kara's mother arrived moments later, she was briefed on what had transpired. The woman, clearly upset with what she was told, confirmed that her (soon to be ex) husband wasn't supposed to come anywhere near Kara. Kara's father was detained long enough for police to show up and arrest him on charges of attempted kidnapping. Since they were witness to what was going on, Lynn, Luan, Alphonse, and the three high schoolers had to stick around for questioning. Since the high school boy, who Alphonse identified as his older brother Aggro, was the one who caught Kara's father in the act and confronted him about it, he was commended for foiling what might have been a kidnapping.

After Kara's father was loaded into the back of a police car, Kara's mother turned to face the kids who stopped Kara's father from potentially kidnapping Kara. "…I'd like to see that bastard try to get custody of our daughter now," Kara's mother remarked. Gently shaking her head, Kara's mother continued, "But enough of that. Thanks for saving my daughter."

"It's literally no problem, ma'am," one of the high school girls replied, "My sister Leni and I were here to pick up our younger sisters Lynn and Luan, and we ran into Aggro who was here picking up his younger brother Alphonse. It was Aggro who first saw what was going on and decided to come over."

"I see," Kara's mother said. Turing to face Aggro, Kara's mother continued, "You're quite a perceptive young man for catching what was going on."

"I did what I thought was right," Aggro replied as he rolled his shoulders a bit, causing the cloth carrying case that was over his back to shift around a bit. Seeing the shifting case, Kara right away recognized what it was.

"Is that a case for carrying a bokken in?" Kara asked as she pointed to the case that was over Aggro's back.

"Oh yeah," Alphonse remarked, "My older brother here has been practicing Kendo for years."

"Aggro is, like, totes amazing," the other high school girl, who Kara's mother assumed was named Leni, added, "I bet that he can beat anyone."

"I highly doubt that I'm good enough for that, Leni-chan," Aggro remarked casually, "Although thanks for the vote of confidence either way."

Kara's mother was about to say something, but she was cut off before she could even get a word out when a police officer came up and said that he needed some information from her. Nodding in understanding, Kara's mother proceeded to walk over to one of the police cars that came by (it wasn't he one that Kara's father was in) so that she could talk to the officer. While this was going on, Kara turned to talk her classmates and the high schoolers that came by and stopped her from potentially getting kidnapped.

"Thanks for the save," Kara said to her classmates, "Umm, you guys are Lynn, Luan and Alphonse, right?"

Nodding once in the affirmative, the shorter girl said, "Right. I'm Lynn, and this is my older sister Luan. The girls behind us are our older sisters Lori and Leni."

"I'm Alphonse, and the guy who stopped your father from trying to take you is my older brother Aggro," the middle school-aged boy remarked. After taking a quick look at the two boys, Kara wore a mild look of confusion, given that Aggro and Alphonse looked nothing alike.

Aggro had fair skin, eyes that denoted some degree of Asian heritage, and long, pale yellow-blonde hair that was in a single men's ponytail, save for bangs that framed his face. Aggro wore a light gray long-sleeved shirt under a seafoam green men's tank top, light gray cargo pants held up with a belt, a pair of men's sandals (Kara believed, given what she saw, that Aggro might be wearing socks as well), and for some reason, some sort of sleeveless long coat the same color as the men's tank top. Also, Around Aggro's neck rested a pair of white studio headphones, with black circles on the outside of the ear pieces, and a cord came out of both ear pieces and trailed down until they became a single cord, which disappeared into Aggro's right front pocket. There was also the bokken carrying case worn over Aggro's back.

As for Alphonse, he had somewhat tan skin that denoted Native American heritage, as well as black hair that was in a single men's ponytail. Additionally, Alphonse wore a beaded necklace that many would attribute to be of Native American make, a white men's tank top, a pair of yellow pants that had fringes on the sides, and a pair of brown shoes. "You two…" Kara said as she pointed to Alphonse and Aggro, "…Are brothers."

"Biologically speaking, my sister Amy and I are actually the cousins of Aggro and the rest of our siblings," Alphonse began to explain, "With our birth parents being the aunt and uncle of Aggro and the rest. However, when me and Amy's parents were killed in a traffic accident a few years back, we were taken in by our aunt and uncle, the parents of Aggro and the rest of our siblings. Me and Amy's aunt and uncle ended up formally adopting us."

"So, wait a minute," Luan said with a mildly confused look on her face as she and Lynn turned to face Alphonse, "Is Aggro your brother or your cousin?"

Turning to face the middle school-aged Loud sisters, Alphonse replied, "Yes."

As the middle school-aged Loud sisters and Kara looked at Alphonse in confusion, Kara's mother came walking back over. "Alright, Kara," Kara's mother said, "I finished talking to the police officer. We can get going home now."

"Well that's a relief," Kara remarked. Kara made her way over to her mother's car, and at Kara's mother's insistence, Lynn, Luan and Alphonse went over with Kara to talk to her for a bit, as she (Kara's mother) wanted to talk to Lori, Leni and Aggro for a bit.

"Thanks again for catching my soon-to-be ex-husband in the act," Kara's mother said to Aggro, "It would have been a total nightmare if he actually managed to take Kara with him."

"I can understand how you feel," Aggro replied in an understanding tone, "Ever since my father died in an accident five years ago, I've taken to acting as a responsible male role model for my younger siblings." With a hint of embarrassment seeping into his expression, Aggro continued, "I'd be lying if I didn't admit to fretting over their well being from time to time, especially if it concerns the youngest of my siblings."

"Aggro is, like, an amazing older brother," Leni said, "In fact, I think that me and Lori's younger brother Linky might look up to Aggro as an older brother figure, just like how Linky looks up to Lori's boyfriend."

"That…would be flattering if it were true, Leni-chan," Aggro remarked, "And if your and Lori's younger brother had an interest in Kendo, then that would be even better, given that neither Alphonse, Andy or Argent have displayed any interest in picking Kendo up themselves."

"Well our mom has been looking for some physical activity for Lincoln to pick up," Lori remarked, "Not quite sure why mom tried to force Lincoln into football, given that he needs some degree of physical prowess for that before he even starts."

"If mom wanted Linky to work out, then why didn't she think of something like track?" Leni asked rhetorically.

"These are all valid points, but I believe that we're getting off subject here," Kara's mother interrupted. Turning to face Aggro, Kara's mother continued in a somewhat unsure tone, "I know that what I'm going to ask may sound like a lot, but I want you to hear me out."

"…Go on," Aggro replied, his interest piqued by what Kara's mother had said.

"You see, my family is going through a lot right now," Kara's mother began to explain, "I'm currently in the middle of getting divorced from my husband, my sister is currently in the middle of getting divorced from _her_ husband, and my nephew's funeral was last week."

"Your nephew died?" Lori asked, sounding shocked and mildly worried, "I am literally sorry to hear that, ma'am."

Nodding once in the affirmative, Kara's mother said, "Yeah. He was only eleven."

"That's the same age as Linky," Leni remarked in a worried tone, "Along with Aggro's younger sister Astrid." Aggro, who had his arms crossed over his chest, nodded once in grim agreement.

"I'm worried that all of these events might have some sort of negative effect on my daughter," Kara's mother continued, "As such, I was hoping to find someone who could act as something of a mentor for Kara. You know, to keep an eye on here, keep her from doing anything reckless, and overall to keep her safe." Gesturing to Aggro, Kara's mother continued, "I was sort of hoping that you could fill that role."

"You're asking me," Aggro began in a mildly incredulous tone, "Someone who you only just met, and who only has the benefit of being someone who saved your daughter from a potential kidnapping, to fulfill a mentor role for your daughter." Arching an eyebrow, Aggro continued in a questioning tone, "Are you serious?"

"I'm actually familiar with your mother, believe it or not," Kara's mother remarked, "I was hoping that you could let her know about what I've asked." Kara's mother took out a mini spiral bound notepad, wrote something on the first blank page she found, tore out said page, and handed it over to Aggro. The sheet had both the name of Kara's mother, which was Koby, plus a phone number. "…This is the new phone number that your mother can reach me at," Kara's mother Koby remarked, "I had to change to a different phone number due to the fact that I'm divorcing from my husband."

"I'll be sure to hand both this and your request over to my mom when I get home with my brother," Aggro replied as he slipped the small sheet of paper, which he folded up, into his right rear pocket. After a few more formalities were exchanged, Koby took her leave. A few seconds later, Lynn, Luan and Alphonse came walking over to their respective older siblings.

"What did Kara's mom wanted to talk to you guys about?" Lynn asked, a curious look on her face.

"Apparently, she wants Aggro to act as something of a mentor slash big brother role to that Kara girl," Lori explained, "I literally have no idea why, though."

"Are you going to do it, Aggro?" Alphonse asked as he turned to look at his older brother."

Aggro was silent as he contemplated whether or not he should go through with this. The look of consideration on his face made it clear that he was weighing his options. After a few seconds, the male Ace twin remarked, "If mom is okay with it, then I don't see why not."

END, SCARS OF THE BROKEN MIRROR: KARA'S STORY CHAPTER ONE

Author's notes:

This story is going to act as something of a prologue to 'Broken Mirror: New War', picking up about a week after the final chapter of that story. This story will explore how Kara is dealing with the events going on in her life, as well as coming to terms both with what her cousin Chandler had done, as well as what Kara herself had a role in. (I'm also going to at least try sneak in some references to the Loud sisters making things right with Lincoln in this setting.) As a side note, I don't intend for this story to go on for all that long, either; at most, I can only realistically see this story go on for about six chapters, which is the same as the original 'Broken Mirror'. Chances are that this story may end up going on for less than that. However, I do have a tendency to surprise even myself, so who can really say for certain?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Scars of the Broken Mirror: Kara's Story

Chapter two: If Lynn was a Lame-o

The morning following Kara's father (possibly) attempting to kidnap her, Kara was sitting on the floor in a room in the place where she and her mother Koby were staying, playing on the Playtendo Swap system that she had inherited from Chandler, her younger cousin who had died recently. Kara was making considerable progress in one of the games for the system that, along with the system, she had also inherited; it was a port of a very popular RPG game where a hero learned the language of dragons. Why Kara's aunt and uncle decided it was a good idea to get that game, which had a mature rating, for an eleven-year-old boy was beyond the thirteen-year-old girl's understanding.

Kara decided that she had made enough progress in the game, so after saving her progress, exiting the game and ultimately shutting off the Playtendo Swap, Kara got up, stretched a little, and made her way out of the room she was in. Due to her parents being in the middle of getting a divorce, Kara and her mother Koby, the parent that Kara wants to stick with, were staying with someone who was good friends with Koby, as well as Kara's aunt. Speaking of, Kara's aunt was also staying with them, as she was also in the middle of getting a divorce.

"Good morning, sweetie," Koby greeted from the table where she and Kara's aunt sat, eating breakfast, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, although I did wake up kind of early," Kara replied as she walked over and joined her mother and aunt over at the table, "Like around five or so."

"Do you have any plans for today, Kara?" Kara's aunt asked in a friendly, curious tone.

"Actually, I was thinking about making my way over to the local card shop," Kara began to explain, "I did some research on the internet about what Chandler's collection of Yugioh cards could be worth, and there are some surprisingly valuable cards in there. I was going to look into seeing what I could get for them."

"You're going to sell your cousin's old cards?" Koby asked, sounding very mildly shocked. The look on Kara's aunt's face seemed to match the tone that Koby was using.

"I'm sorry, mom," Kara replied, "But I'm not all that interested in playing the game. Besides, since both you and Aunt Luca here are getting divorced, money might get tight around here. I'm also going to look into selling some of those collectable toys that Chandler had."

"That…is a valid point," Kara's aunt, apparently named Luca, replied, seeing the point that her niece was trying to get at.

"Besides, I'm keeping the video game stuff and the books," Kara pointed out, "I'd have to be insane to want to get rid of a Playtendo Swap."

"Especially considering how much your aunt and uncle must have spent buying it for your cousin," Koby remarked. This drew a grim nod of agreement from Luca, grim because her husband, who she still isn't technically separated from yet, was brought up. After taking a sip from the mug of coffee that she was nursing, Koby said, "Anywho, Kara, you remember that teenage boy from yesterday? The one who stopped your father from potentially kidnapping you while you were at school?"

"The school's going to be in trouble for almost letting dad kidnap me, right?" Kara asked.

"Yes, and I'm going to enjoy seeing your father squirm because of it, but that's beside the point," Koby remarked, "The point is that the teenage boy will be coming by later."

"Wait, you mean the older brother of Alphonse Ace?" Kara asked, shooting her mother a curious look.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Koby explained, "I'm close friends with Ashe, who's the mother of Alphonse and his older brother Aggro. I asked Aggro if he would mind taking on a sort of mentor role for you, and I've made arrangements with Ashe so that Aggro would be free to keep an eye on you."

"A mentor role?" Kara repeated in a confused tone.

"Kara, I'm worried about you," Koby said in a sympathetic tone, "Your father and I are getting divorced, your aunt and uncle are also getting divorced, and your younger cousin recently died. There's no way a thirteen-year-old girl can go through that many life experiences like that without any sort of issue. That's why Ashe's oldest son will be helping to look after you. The two of you will have a sort of big brother-little sister dynamic."

"And you decided on all of this without informing me until just now because…" Kara replied, trailing off in a manner that showed that she expected to be filled in. Koby was about to say something, but she was interrupted when there was a knock at the door. Koby got up and, with Kara following behind her, walked over to the door to answer it. Opening the door, both Koby and Kara were greeted by the sight of Aggro Ace. As per usual, the carrying case that held his bokken was worn over his back.

"I'm glad that I got the address right," Aggro remarked as he greeted Koby and Kara, "I'm not too early, am I?"

"My sister and I were just having coffee while I was telling my daughter about how you're going to help look after her," Koby explained, "Would you like to come in? We can get you a mug of coffee if you'd like."

"I don't suppose a mug of coffee would hurt," Aggro replied in a casually appreciative tone as he was allowed in, "There's creamer and sugar, right?"

…

After a few minutes, Koby, Luca, Kara and Aggro were all seated around the table, with everyone nursing a mug of coffee. Kara still had some confusion as to why her mother thought that she (Kara) needed a big brother figure to serve as her mentor. Kara also felt a little offended that her mother felt that she would be messed up due to everything that was going on; sure, it's a little disturbing that Kara's mom and dad were getting divorced, as were Kara's aunt and uncle, and Kara would admit that she cried at least once because Chandler had died. But it's not like Kara was going to lash out violently and maybe become a bully and a punk; Kara had no intention of doing anything along those lines. In fact, the thirteen-year-old girl felt that she would be good to go so long as she had manga to read, anime to watch and video games to play.

"Hey young man," Luca began as she spoke to Aggro in a conversational tone, getting the male Ace twin's attention in the process. After Aggro turned to regard Luca, the woman pointed to the carrying case Aggro had brought with him and said, "Is that a bokken you brought with you?"

Nodding once in the affirmative, Aggro replied, "I've been practicing Kendo for at least the past six years."

"Hey Kara, weren't you into Kendo a while ago?" Luca asked as she turned to face her niece.

"Yeah, but I was only into it because my dad was forcing me to find some sport or something similar to throw myself into, and my baseball team at the time had be disqualified for the rest of the season due to cheating," Kara replied.

"Yeah, Kara's father had something of a nasty habit of trying to force his passion for sports onto Kara," Koby remarked as she turned to face Luca.

"I…take it that Kara doesn't have all that much interest in sports?" Aggro asked.

"If by 'not all that much' you mean 'none at all whatsoever'," Kara remarked, getting Aggro to turn and face her in the process, "Then yes. You hit the nail right on the head."

"Is…is there anything you want to do today?" Aggro asked the thirteen-year-old girl. In response, Kara told Aggro of her plans concerning the Yugioh cards and various collectable toys that she inherited from her late younger cousin. Kara even told Aggro how she did some research on all of the cards, so she has a fair idea what she could realistically get for them. "I'm actually rather well-versed on the subject of collectables like that," Aggro remarked, "Would you mind if I took a look at what you have? I kind of want to see what you got."

"You drove here, right?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," the male Ace twin replied.

"Then you can help me get to the places I want to go today," Kara said, "Driving will save a lot of time getting from place to place."

"Well I figure that a drive will give us some time in case you want to talk about something," Aggro remarked, a hint of mild amusement in his tone because of the thirteen-year-old girl's attitude that she was currently displaying, "I'll be ready to go as soon as you are."

Giving a single nod in the affirmative in response, Kara replied, "Got it."

* * *

Thanks to Aggro giving her a ride around Royal Woods, Kara was able to head to some specialty shops that dealt with the buying, selling and trading of various collectables. The Yugioh cards alone netted Kara a little over six-hundred dollars (a lot of the cards that Chandler had were apparently very rare, as well as very useful in competitive), and the collectable toys netted Kara a solid fifty dollars. Combined with the seven-hundred plus dollars that Chandler had saved up, Kara was now sitting on over thirteen-hundred dollars, closer to fourteen-hundred. …Kara could see why some people thought that her late younger cousin was considered spoiled.

"I would say that you, your mother and your aunt won't have to worry about expenses for a while," Aggro remarked as he drove himself and Kara somewhere for lunch.

Turning to regard the seventeen-year-old Ace boy, Kara replied in a dry tone, "Well that goes without saying." Turning her head to look directly out the front window, Kara asked, "So where are we going for lunch?"

"We're going to my family's place," Aggro replied.

A hint of confusion came across Kara's face. "…Wait a minute," the thirteen-year-old girl began, "You're taking me over to your family's house to have lunch? I thought that we were heading to some place like Burpin' Burger, or one of the fusion places here in Royal Woods."

"We are heading to one of the fusion places here in Royal Woods," Aggro explained, "It just so happens to be the one that my family owns."

"Oh, so _that_'_s_ what you meant when you talked about your family's place," Kara said, a hint of realization in her tone. Within short order, Aggro pulled into the parking lot of Odin-Dono's Swedish Japanese Cuisine, which on the outside resembled a mix of a Viking fort and a samurai castle. Upon seeing the outside of the establishment, Kara was intrigued.

"…So, this place serves Swedish and Japanese food?" Kara asked.

Turning his car off, Aggro replied, "It does." As he took off his seat belt, Aggro said, "So Kara, are you coming or what?" Looking up at Aggro, Kara saw the look of curiosity on his face, the kind that someone displays when they're subtly trying to tease someone. Finding a chuckle despite herself, Kara unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. After everything was locked up, Kara followed Aggro into his family's restaurant.

As he walked through the parking lot with Kara, Aggro spotted a familiar and old looking van parked in one of the spaces close to the building. "…I guess mom scheduled Leni-chan's father to work today," the male Ace twin remarked to himself.

"Did you say something?" Kara asked, turning to face Aggro since she didn't clearly hear what Aggro had just said.

"It's nothing," Aggro replied, then continued as he proceeded to go on ahead "Anywho, come on. We've got lunch to get."

* * *

Inside of Odin-Dono's, Kara saw a number of various décor items on the wall, mostly equipment that would be sported by either Vikings or Samurai. Kara even saw a suit of Samurai armor, on a mannequin, in one of the areas of the restaurant. "Wow," Kara remarked aloud as she and Aggro walked in, taking in all the sights, "Your family actually owns this place?"

"Yeah," Aggro replied, "It's been in my family for at least the past-"

"Aggro!" a familiar female voice called out, cutting the male Ace twin off and prompting both him and Kara to turn and see the two oldest Loud siblings, Lori and Leni, come walking up to them. It had been Leni who called out.

"Oh, hey Leni-chan," Aggro replied, "I take it that you and Lori came by for lunch?"

"Yeah, our dad had the day off so I was literally able to borrow the van from him," Lori remarked. Looking down to Kara, Lori said, "Hey, aren't you that Kara girl that's in the same school as Lynn and Luan?"

"Yeah," Kara replied, "Although honestly, I don't know either of them all that well."

Turning her attention from Kara back to Aggro, Lori said, "So I'm guessing you agreed to do that mentoring thing her mother asked you to do?"

"Well, I have nothing to really keep me from doing so," Aggro replied. To the Loud sisters as a whole, Aggro said, "I brought Kara here for lunch so that we'd have a place where she could talk about her experiences over the past few weeks, and to get some stuff off of her chest if she feels the need to."

"Oh, really?" Leni said, "I was kind of hoping that we could join you."

"I don't really mind the extra company," Kara remarked as she turned to look up at Aggro.

With a mildly amused smile, Aggro replied, "Well alright." Turning his attention back to Lori and Leni, Aggro said, "I guess this means you two are going to join us after all."

…

Later, Kara, Aggro, Lori and Leni were sitting in a booth together, enjoying some sodas while they wait for their food to arrive. As the four of them waited for the food, Kara was telling the teenagers about what her dad was doing when it came to trying to force his passion for sports onto her. Kara drained her glass of cola on the counter of the table before she said to continue her story, "Just what was my dad's deal, anyway? Couldn't he tell that I don't like playing sports at all? Or did he just not care?"

"Maybe he wanted to make sure you got exercise?" Lori suggested.

"Some of the sports that Kara's father tried to force onto Kara require some degree of fitness before even starting them," Aggro pointed out, "And if exercise was the only concern, then something like track would have been a more logical option." Gently shaking his head, Aggro continued, "No, I don't think exercise is the issue here, but rather someone trying to force their way onto someone else."

"Kind…" Leni began in a somber tone of realization, "…Kind of like what happened with Linky a while ago."

"Who what now?" Kara said, clearly lost on what was going on.

"A while ago," Lori said as she began to explain things to Kara, "Me and Leni's younger brother Lincoln ran away from home. I…don't want to go into too much detail about that here, but the reason why all of the nonsense that compelled Lincoln to run away occurred in the first place was because our sister Lynn forced Lincoln to go to one of her softball games, even threatening him with a bat to make him go.'

"Wait a minute," Kara began in a mildly confused tone, "Isn't Lynn the one with the red and white jersey, and she wears her hair in a ponytail?"

"Exactly," Lori replied, pointing to Kara in a commending manner that signified that Kara's guess hit the nail right on the head.

"Why did Lincoln not want to go to the softball game in the first place?" Kara asked, "Does he not like sports or something?"

"Actually, the real reason was because Lincoln had been to so many events the rest of our sisters had beforehand," Lori explained, "And he was just plain tired and wanted to stay home to rest a bit while doing some of the things that he wanted to do."

"Like what?" Kara asked.

With a shrug, Lori said, "I'm guessing that Lincoln just wanted to read some of his comics and play a few video games."

"…Huh, well what do you know," Kara remarked as she leaned back in her seat a bit, "That sounds like how I would spend a day off."

Both of the Loud girls looked at Kara with curious looks. "…Really?" Lori said in a questioning tone.

"Well, I'd probably read manga rather than American comics," Kara clarified, "And I'd probably also look at some anime on the internet, but the video game part remains the same."

"And you…you aren't much of a sports person, are you?" Lori asked.

Gently shaking her head in the negative, Kara replied, "Not at all." After the thirteen-year-old girl gave her response, Lori and Leni both turned to face each other.

"…It's like she's what Lynn would be like if Lynn didn't like sports, and if she had all of the same interests and Linky," Leni said to her older sister.

"It's kind of weird to imagine something like that," Lori remarked in a tone of agreement.

"Excuse me?" Kara said, looking mildly confused.

Both of the Loud girls turned to face Kara, with Lori saying, "Sorry, but Leni and I were talking about how you're way closer to our brother Lincoln than you are to our sister Lynn in terms of hobbies, and probably personality as well."

"What does this brother of yours look like?" Kara asked, a curious look on her face.

Reaching into a front pocket on her shorts, Lori said, "Hold on, I'll pull my phone out and show you a picture." After a few seconds, Lori pulled her smartphone out, turned it on, fiddled around with it for a few seconds, and then said, "Aha, here we go." Lori turned the phone around so that Kara could see the screen; when she did, Kara saw a picture of a white-haired boy standing next to Leni. "This is a photo I took shortly after Lincoln came back home after having ran away," Lori explained, "He's standing next to Leni."

"…" Studying the image of Lincoln standing next to Leni for a few seconds, Kara said as she pointed to Lincoln, "…Hey, he looks familiar…"

"He does?" Leni asked, a mildly confused look on her face.

"…Yeah, he does," Kara remarked, "Is he a student over at Royal Woods Elementary School, by any chance?"

"Yeah, he's a fifth grader over there," Lori replied as she took her smartphone back, "Why do you ask?"

"…My late cousin was a student over at Royal Woods Elementary School," Kara explained, "I remember having seen that Lincoln kid before since my cousin pointed him out to me in a school yearbook that he got."

"Your cousin's late?" Leni said in a mildly confused tone, "What is he late for? Was he supposed to meet us here for lunch but he got caught up?"

Sighing in a mildly exasperated tone, Lori said to Kara, "What's your name again?"

"Kara," the thirteen-year-old girl replied.

"Okay, thanks," Lori said. Turning to face Leni, Lori continued, "Leni, when someone like Kara says that a relative of theirs is late, such as 'my late cousin' for example, it means that the relative in question has died."

"Her cousin died?" Leni said, a look of heartbreak on her face. Turning to face Kara, Leni said, "I am, like, so sorry to hear that. How old was she?"

"He," Kara corrected, "My cousin Chandler was a boy. He was eleven-years-old when he died."

"He was only eleven?" Leni said as she sounded slightly more upset, "Oh geez, that's the same age as Linky. I can't believe that-"

"Wait a minute," Lori said, cutting Leni off. To Kara, Lori said in a mildly suspicious tone, "Did you say that your cousin's name was Chandler?"

"…Yeah," the thirteen-year-old girl replied, a hint of mild confusion in her tone.

"And that your cousin Chandler was a student over at Royal Woods Elementary School prior to his death?" Lori continued, the suspicion in her tone unwavering.

"Yeah," Kara replied, "But what's that got to do with anything?"

"More than you could probably guess," Aggro remarked, getting Kara and both of the Loud girls to turn to face him. To Lori and Leni specifically, Aggro continued, "But let's not drag Kara here down because of what had been found out about her late cousin. The sins of the deceased should not be transferred to their living relatives."

Both of the Loud girls nodded in agreement, Lori in particular, who seemed to have relented somewhat in response to what the male Ace twin had said.

"…I don't quite get what you're trying to get at here," Kara remarked as she turned to face Aggro, "But thanks nonetheless."

"It is a non-factor," Aggro replied, "Still, you can't quite blame someone for wanting to give you some trouble or attitude because of what your late cousin had done. After all, he does have a considerable rap sheet, if all of the rumors that I've heard about him are true."

"All of them literally are true, Aggro," Lori stated, her tone and expression both fully confident.

"…" Giving Lori a dry look of knowing consideration, Aggro said, "…If that's the case, then I ought to take some time to educate Kara about it, so that she knows to refrain from taking part in such actions herself." Turning his attention to Kara, Aggro continued, "The two of us have a few more stops to make while we're out and about today. We can stop for Frozen King when we're done if you want, but those other stops have to come first."

"What other stops?" Kara asked, a mildly confused look on her face.

"Stops related to what your late cousin had done before he passed," the male Ace twin replied somewhat cryptically, "I'll explain as we go along our way today."

Kara had no idea what the mentor her mother roped up for her was talking about, but she figured that she'd go along with it. After all, other than her brief stint on a youth baseball team, her brief stint in Kendo, and assisting with screwing Francisco over at the RWMS student body elections a while ago, Kara had done nothing in conjunction with Chandler, and likewise knows very little about him, if anything at all. The thirteen-year-old girl was itching to learn more about her late cousin, although she was getting a vibe that she may not like what she's going to learn.

END, SCARS OF THE BROKEN MIRROR: KARA'S STORY CHAPTER TWO

Author's notes:

When I originally created the character Kara, I imagined her as being what Lynn would be like if Lynn had absolutely no interest in sports and preferred much of the same activities as Lincoln; Kara is essentially a slightly older female Lincoln. With that out of the way, the next chapter will show Kara learning about much of what Chandler had a hand in during the events of most of my Loud House stories, mainly what happened back in 'Broken Mirror: New War'. Kara will also be meeting certain characters whose lives had been (negatively) affected by Chandler's presence.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Scars of the Broken Mirror: Kara's Story

Chapter three: Sins of our Cousins

Kara, a thirteen-year-old girl living in Royal Woods, Michigan, had no idea what was going to happen. Aggro, an older teen that was her role model/mentor because of her mother Koby being worried about her because of a number of things that had been going on/had happened as of late, said that he would be taking her around town. While she and Aggro were at the fusion restaurant that Aggro's family owns earlier, Kara had run into two older teen girls, named Lori and Leni, and the two of them (mostly Lori) went on about how Chandler, Kara's younger cousin who had died recently, had something of a reputation before his passing. From what Aggro said, this trip around town was meant to 'educate Kara against the idea of doing what Chandler did', or words to that effect.

As Kara sat in the front passenger seat of Aggro's car, looking out the window as the Royal Woods landscape passed by, the male Ace twin said without taking his eyes off the road, "The first place we'll be going to will be the Spokes residence."

"Spokes residence?" Kara repeated in a confused tone, turning her head so that she was facing Aggro, "Why are we going there? What does Chandler have to do with those people?"

"You'll see soon enough," Aggro replied. About a minute later, Aggro's car pulled up to a house in the residential area of Royal Woods. Aggro, with Kara following him at his insistence, got out of the car, walked up to front door, and knocked a few times. A few seconds after that, the front door was opened by a short orange-haired boy that looked to be about eight years of age.

"Oh, hey Aggro," the young boy said in a greeting tone, "Argent's over here with me and Lucy, if you're looking for him."

"I actually need to see your older brother, Rocky," Aggro replied to the young boy, apparently named Rocky. Gesturing to Kara while still facing Rocky, Aggro continued, "My friend here is Kara, who is the cousin of that Chandler boy that got your brother Rusty into a lot of trouble a while ago. I believe that Kara can learn some very valuable points if she sat down and went over a few things with Rusty."

Scoffing in an annoyed tone that had a very mild hint of disgust, Rocky said to Aggro while pointing at Kara, "Seriously? She's related to _that_ bastard?"

"She is nothing like Chandler, I assure you," Aggro clarified, "And if things go as I hope, she'll know not to tread down the same path he did." The younger Spokes boy looked up at Kara and the male Ace twin for a few seconds. After that, Rocky turned around to face into the house.

"Hey Rusty!" Rocky called into his family's home, "Argent's older brother and some girl who looks about as old as Lucy's sister Lynn are at the front door asking for you!" After a few seconds of waiting with Rocky at the front door, Kara and Aggro were greeted by the sight of Rusty, the older of the two Spokes brothers.

"Can I…help you?" Rusty asked in a mildly confused tone, "Rocky said something about the two of you needed to speak with me or something?"

"Yes, Rusty," Aggro replied, "Although I'd understand if the subject I want to go over with you might be sensitive. It concerns-"

"-How Chandler tricked everyone into thinking I bullied Lincoln's little sister and was ultimately expelled from school because of it?" Rusty asked, both his tone and expression showing that this was not the first time someone wanted to talk about the subject in question with him.

"…Yes," the male Ace twin replied, "I don't suppose there's anywhere where you, me and Kana here can talk in private?"

"…The family den should be able to cover that," Rusty replied, turning around and gesturing for Kana and Aggro to follow him. Aggro entered the Spokes residence, with Kara following in after him somewhat hesitantly. Kara had a feeling that things might get a bit uncomfortable…

…

In the Spokes family den, Kara and Aggro sat on a small sofa opposite of the armchair that Rusty took a seat in. "…So, what about Chandler trying to ruin my life did you want to talk to me about?" Rusty asked, "Did Argent do something to poke fun at me that you want to apologize to me for, or something?"

"Argent has done nothing along those lines that I am aware of, nor has Andy for that matter," Aggro replied with a gentle shake of his head in the negative. Gesturing to Kara, Aggro began to explain, "Rusty, this is Kara. She is Chandler's older cousin."

With a mildly surprised look of confusion on his face, Rusty said, "…Chandler had a cousin? I didn't know that Hey, wait a minute." Deviating midsentence, Rusty said, "Why did you bring this girl here if she's Chandler's cousin?"

"I want her to hear from you about what all her late cousin did to you," Aggro explained, "If you don't mind sharing, that is."

The older Spokes boy looked at Kara for a few seconds, as if he were considering her. Finally, Rusty said, "…She isn't looking for pointers on what to do to others, is she?"

"Kara's mother is worried that she might go down some wrong path, and it is my hope that by learning about what Candler did, Kara will keep herself out of trouble," Aggro explained.

"Alright, I'll talk," Rusty replied, "I just hope she isn't the kind of person who is similar to that jerk cousin she had." Kara remained silent, mostly because she had a feeling that she needed to remain that way so that she could hear all about what her late cousin had done back when he was still alive.

"So yeah, Chandler got me expelled from school," Rusty began, his tone making it clear that he was unable to completely hide his bitterness at the fact, "As well as get everyone that I know, including my own younger brother, to turn against me. Chandler, with the help of those goons he had, pulled that off by framing me as a bully who picked on smaller girls. In fact, he even set up Rocky's little girlfriend out there in the living room with him and Argent as my quote unquote 'victim'. I was punched by no less than three girls in my grade, including Tabby, Jordan, Haiku and Ronnie Anne." Pointing at Kara, Rusty said, "Do you _know_ how hard Ronnie Anne can hit? She's not known as the Queen of Pain for nothing, you know!"

"It seems that Bobby ought to have a talk with his little sister later," Aggro remarked dryly.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Rusty continued saying to Kara while leaning back in his seat slightly, "So yeah. After I was punched by multiple girls and got suspended a few times, I was ultimately expelled from school, not to mention getting grounded indefinitely by my parents. Granted, when Chandler's schemes were made known to the school and the school informed my parents about what happened, my parents ungrounded me and I was reinstated as a student. But it still kind of sucks how I was screwed over by that cousin of yours."

"Umm…" Kara began in a mildly unsure and hesitant tone, "…If you don't mind me asking, do you know _why_ Chandler did all that stuff?"

Scoffing in an annoyed tone, Rusty said, "Of course, I know. I found out since your cousin's journal was recovered from the lost and found, and said journal contained everything about what he did." Resting his arms on the arms of the chair he sat in, Rusty said, "There was this one time about a day or so before Chandler began to try and ruin my life where I was performing tricks with a fidget spinner during recess. Chandler apparently didn't like that I was getting more attention than him."

"Yeah, that sounds like my cousin, alright," Kara remarked dryly, familiar with how Chandler used to try to be the center of attention, and how he didn't like to share the spotlight. She had stories for days from her and Chandler's early childhood.

"So, Chandler and two of his goons come up, right?" Rusty said, "Chandler pulls out his own fidget spinner, and challenges me to some contest to see who was better at performing tricks with a fidget spinner. After I did a trick, Chandler tried to do one, only to end up smacking himself in the face with his own fidget spinner." Upon hearing that last part, Kara had to snort back a laugh. "Yeah, it was pretty funny," Rusty remarked, "But anywho, Chandler apparently didn't like it that he was embarrassed in front of everyone on the playground like that, even though he started everything in the first place." Crossing his arms over his chest again, Rusty said, "All of that is why Chandler tried to ruin my life."

"…Okay," Kara began, "I knew that my younger cousin was something of a sore loser, and that he wasn't above the idea of getting revenge, but I had no idea that he was willing to go _that far_ over something so…so petty." The thirteen-year-old girl even shuddered a bit, a clear sign that she was uncomfortable with what she had just learned.

"Worse yet, Chandler had everyone completely duped," Rusty added, "Word of Chandler being the true responsible party didn't get out until his journal was found in the school lost and found. Of course, Chandler died before his journal was found, so he ultimately wasn't punished for what he did to me. He also wasn't punished for everything that he did to everyone else that he screwed over, including that Francisco boy."

"Francisco?" Kara repeated, getting both Rusty and Aggro to look at her with curious looks. With a look of consideration on her own face, Kara continued, "I'm…I'm actually familiar with the guy that you're talking about."

"Good," Aggro replied to Kara, getting both her and Rusty to look at him as he got up from where he sat. "That means the next part on our trip around Royal Woods should be a bit easier for you to understand," the male Ace twin continued, "The two of us are going to be paying Francisco a little visit."

* * *

After she and Aggro said good-bye to Rusty, Rocky, Argent (Aggro also told Argent that he'd see him later when they both got home) and Lucy, Kara assumed that Aggro would take her to another house in the residential area of Royal Woods, so that they could talk to Francisco, the next person on the list of persons that Aggro would be taking her to see. However, Kara was a bit shocked to see that Aggro took her not to a house, but rather to the Juvenile Detention Center that was located in Royal Woods.

"Why are we here?" Kara asked as she walked with Aggro through a visiting area in the Juvie building.

"This is where Francisco is currently staying," Aggro explained in a matter-of-factly tone, "Francisco got arrested after he had chased down and beat up your late cousin one day after school had let out for the weekend."

"Hey, I remember hearing from Aunt Luca something about Chandler getting beaten up by a kid from my school," Kara remarked, "I think it happened sometime before the elementary school was attacked by those guys who used homemade bombs, or something else like that." Turing to face Aggro, Kara asked, "So it was Francisco who beat Chandler up that day?"

"Exactly," Aggro replied, nodding once in the affirmative. Eventually, Kara followed Aggro over to a table in the visiting area where Francisco, wearing the Juvie equivalent of a prison's jumpsuit, was sitting and waiting.

"Sorry about taking so long, Francisco," Aggro said in greeting to the thirteen-year-old boy as he (Aggro) and Kara sat down at the table, "How are things going for you?"

"As well as they can go, given that I'm going to be stuck here in Juvie until my freshman year of High School is expected to start," Francisco replied in a dry, bitter tone, "You're the older brother of that Alphonse Ace guy from my school, right?" After the male Ace twin nodded twice in the affirmative, Francisco continued, "Yeah, the people running this place here said that you wanted to visit me for some odd reason. Why would you, of all people, want to visit me?"

Gesturing to Kara, Aggro said to Francisco, "It concerns Kara here."

Turing to face Kara so he could see her, Francisco's eyes widened a bit, as if he were seeing someone who he recognized. "…You're that one girl from my school," Francisco remarked, "The one that was on the baseball team that we belonged to."

"Yeah, and I hated every minute of it," Kara remarked.

With a mildly confused look on his face, Francisco asked, "Be…cause our team was cheating?"

"Because I was on a sports team period," Kara corrected, "I fucking _hate_ sports."

"Wait a minute," Francisco began as mild confusion seeped into his tone, "If you hate sports, then why were you on the baseball team in the first place?"

"Because my dad made me join the team because he wanted to force his passion for sports onto me," the thirteen-year-old girl explained.

"Huh, well I'm sorry to hear that," Francisco remarked.

Leaning back slightly in her seat, Kara remarked, "You know, it was my cousin Chandler who exposed our team's cheating and got us disqualified for the rest of the season."

"You're actually related to that little shit?" Francisco said to Kara in a near snapping tone, pounding the area of the table's surface where he sat at with his fists, "And he was actually fucking with me before our respective dads started to compete for that one promotion at work?"

"He actually wasn't doing it to mess with you," Kara remarked, "Hell, I doubt that he was even aware that he was screwing with you until after our team was disqualified. The reason why Chandler exposed the team's cheating was because he knew I hated being on the team and wanted to get out of it, but if I was the one who took to exposing the team's cheating, the coach and most of the rest of the team would have tried making my life hell in retaliation. Also, I'm pretty sure that my dad would have smacked me for deliberately trying to get out of playing sports, before he went out to find another sport to force me into. My dad doesn't care if the team I'm on is cheating or not, all he wants is for me to be made to embrace his passion for sports."

"…Wow, that sucks," Francisco remarked, both his expression and tone showing that he was shocked into some degree of being dumbfounded.

"You know, I'm surprised that you aren't pissed at me because I basically asked my younger cousin to expose our team's cheating for me," Kara remarked to the thirteen-year-old boy.

With a more or less indifferent shrug, Francisco replied, "To be honest, I didn't really care that our team was cheating. I mean, I was able to avoid getting grounded since I was able to prove that I never did any of the actual cheating myself, but my mom still scolded me for not coming forward about what my team was doing earlier." With a look of mild confusion on his face, Francisco added, "Also, this one girl from the opposing team smacked me after the game was ended early and her team was given the win because of our team's cheating. She also ran away crying, but I don't have any idea why."

"That girl you're talking about is Lynn Loud," Aggro explained to Francisco, "She's one of the Middle School-aged sisters of my girlfriend Leni-chan. Lynn also had a crush on you."

With the confused look on his face taking on a strong and noticeable hint of surprise, Francisco said, "That girl has a crush on me?"

"_Had_, Francisco," Aggro pointed out, "Lynn _had_ a crush on you. When your and Kara's baseball team was disqualified from the rest of that youth baseball season, and after she learned of your role in what your team was doing, Lynn was heartbroken, giving up on you as a result."

"But I just said that I didn't do any of the actual cheating myself," Francisco replied.

"But you still knew of what your and Kara's team was doing, did you not?" Aggro asked. After the thirteen-year-old boy nodded in the affirmative, Aggro explained, "Lynn considers it just as bad, if not worse, that you knew what your and Kara's team was doing yet did nothing about it. With all due respect, I can see how your inaction makes you an accessory to cheating in sports." With a hint of mild suspicion in his tone, Aggro continued, "Speaking of cheating in sports or similar other events, I have been made aware that you cheated in a youth Kendo tournament over at the Royal Woods Community Center."

"Oh yeah, that," Francisco remarked as he remembered what the male Ace twin was talking about, "I think that Lynn girl tried beating me up after I was kicked out of the tournament." Turning to face Kara, Francisco added, "Hey, weren't you in that tournament as well?"

"Yeah, I was," Kara replied in the affirmative, "Chandler also came by to watch me compete."

"…Did he, now," Francisco remarked in a cool yet neutral tone.

"Chandler…told me about how he switched out the bamboo sword you were using with a different one so he could frame you for cheating," Kara explained. Kara wanted to be careful with what she said here; she actually knew a lot more about the incident at the Kendo tournament than what she wanted to let on, as she was actually working with Chandler back then to try and screw Francisco over. It was in fact Kara, after she was knocked out of the tournament herself, who switched out Francisco's shinai when no one was looking (she never said this out loud, though). Kara had been convinced by her late cousin to help him with his various schemes to screw Francisco over so that the more trouble that he got into, the more it would reflect on his dad, thus lowering Francisco's dad's odds of getting that one promotion at work, while similarly upping his (Chandler's) dad's odds of getting that promotion.

"Wait a minute," Aggro said in a mildly surprised tone as he turned his attention to Kara, all suspicion in his tone suddenly disappearing as Kara and Francisco turned to face him, "You're saying that Francisco getting disqualified from that youth Kendo tournament for supposed cheating was because your cousin actually framed him?" The thirteen-year-old girl nodded in the affirmative in response.

"…Huh," Aggro remarked in a mildly bemused tone. Turning to face Francisco, Aggro said, "Well it looks like I owe you an apology."

"Really?" Francisco replied, looking mildly confused.

"My interest in baseball may be non-existent," Aggro began to explain, "But I take Kendo very seriously, as I have been practicing it for years. That being said, I was about to give you a mild scolding for your apparent cheating in the youth Kendo tournament." Sighing in a mildly resigned tone, the male Ace twin continued, "But if what Kara said just now is true, then I was about to chew you out without actual justification. That being said, I'm sorry."

"A…apology accepted," Francisco remarked.

Turning his attention to Kara, Aggro said, "Why didn't you tell anyone that your cousin switched out Francisco's shinai?"

"Chandler told me about it after the tournament ended," Kara pointed out (lied), "So I had no idea about it until everything was done."

"Is there anything else that you know about what Chandler did?" the male Ace twin asked, a curious look on his face.

Aside from Chandler exposing the cheating of her and Francisco's youth baseball team, and her role in helping to set Francisco up at the youth Kendo tournament at the community center, there was one thing Kara had any knowledge about when it came to what her late cousin did to screw with Francisco; a while ago, Royal Woods Middle School was having student body elections, and Francisco was one of the four candidates for student body president. Both Kara and Chandler were at the dance, Kara because she's a RWMS student, and Chandler because his mother, who was acting as one of the adult chaperones for the dance, had to bring him along because the boy would have been left home alone otherwise.

Working secretly with Chandler, Kara managed to trick one of Francisco's opponents in the election, some boy named Benny who had expressed surprise that he was able to make it to the dance, into going to some area off to the side of the stage in the gymnasium. In this backstage-like area, Benny wandered into a trap that had been set up, burying him under an avalanche of various props from the drama department, along with a few random objects that had been found laying around in that backstage-like area. The trap was set up by Chandler's two goon-friends, the main two that were always seen hanging out with the late conceited boy.

After Benny was buried in that avalanche, getting knocked out in the process, everyone heard the noise that was made by everything falling over like that. When the first group went to investigate what had happened, they found Benny lying under the pile of objects. After they unburied him, an ambulance was called to take Benny to the hospital. As a side note, Kara saw that Benny's running mate, Ulfric Aesir, as well as the Loud sisters who go to RWMS, having joined Benny's team to help him try to win the election, were upset by what had happened. The older of the middle school-aged Loud sisters (Kara didn't remember that girl's name at the moment) seemed to be particularly upset, as she was actually crying. Thankfully, no lasting damage was done to Benny, and he got out of Royal Woods General in quick order.

…But the damage that Chandler wanted to do was done. Not the physical damage done to Benny; that was required for the plan to screw with Francisco. No, the damage that Chandler had hoped to cause was to shred Francisco's reputation at RWMS. Granted, Francisco's reputation at RWMS was already somewhat shaky due to how his and Kara's youth baseball team was disqualified (Kara managed to avoid damage to her own reputation because hardly anyone at RWMS even knows that Kara exists, a status that Kara is all too happy to hold onto), but while the trap that was sprung on Benny was being set up, evidence implicating Francisco as the guilty party had been planted all over that area; when people came to investigate what happened after hearing the noise made by the avalanche, printed-up posters for Francisco's bid for student body president were found, and people naturally drew the conclusion that Francisco was trying to thin out the competition.

As a result, Francisco ended up not only kissing his chances at becoming student body president good-bye, but he was also suspended for a week from RWMS _and_ he and his parents got a very troubling visit from the RWPD. However, Francisco was, as he was saying all along back then, actually innocent, that he hadn't done anything to anyone. But no one was inclined to believe him; even Francisco's own parents were starting to lose faith in their thirteen-year-old son.

Because Chandler had everyone duped.

Gently shaking her head in the negative in response to Aggro's question, Kara said, "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything else. Everything that I just told you about is the extent of what I know about what my late cousin did."

"Wait a minute," Francisco said with a confused and mildly surprised look on his face, "Late? What are you talking about?"

"Oh yeah, that hasn't come up yet," Aggro remarked in a mildly grim tone as he turned to face Francisco, "Kara's cousin Chandler had recently died. The autopsy that was done confirmed that Chandler's cause of death was cyanide poisoning."

"Are you serious?" Francisco remarked, his obvious change in tone clearly indicating that he just heard what he thought was fantastic news, "That little shit is actually dead?"

"…I generally don't like it when people speak ill of the dead," Aggro remarked dryly to the thirteen-year-old boy as he crossed his arms over his chest, "But given what Kara's cousin has been confirmed to have done to you, along with various other acts the late Chandler has been confirmed to have done, I'm going to let it slide." Turing to face Kara, Aggro said, "How about you, Kara? After all, Chandler was your cousin."

With a shrug, Kara remarked, "I was never all that close to my cousin anyway."

…

After a few more minutes of talking with Francisco (who was in a much better mood for the remainder of the time that they were there visiting him), Aggro and Kara took their leave from the Royal Woods Juvenile Detention center. After they got into Aggro's car and took off, Kara turned to face her mentor. "…Where are we going next?"

"…We're going to pay some people a visit," the male Ace twin replied.

"Who, exactly?" Kara asked.

"Well for starters, we'll be seeing your cousin Chandler," Aggro replied.

"…Ehh?" the thirteen-year-old girl replied, clearly looking confused.

* * *

As it turned out, the next stop Aggro wanted to take Kara to was the Royal Woods Cemetery, the fenced-in area of land where those who live in Royal Woods are laid to rest when their time comes. When the two of them entered the cemetery, Aggro turned to face Kara and asked, "You went to your cousin's funeral, right? Do you remember the exact area here where your cousin was buried?"

Kara nodded once in the affirmative, then gestured for Aggro to follow her. After a minute or so of walking, Kara and Aggro finally arrived at their destination, a tombstone that had Chandler's name on it. "I hope you don't mind if we intrude on your time, young man," Aggro said, drawing a bit of confusion out of Kara as she turned to face him. Kara watched as Aggro got down on the ground in front of Chandler's grave. The male Ace twin was first kneeling on his knees, but then he proceeded to sit upright so that his rear end rested on the heels of his feet, his thighs over his shins. Aggro then took off the carrying case that held his bokken and laid it on the ground on his immediate left.

Looking up where Kara stood, Aggro said while gesturing to his right, "Come, join us."

With a bit of confusion, Kara joined Aggro in sitting in front of Chandler's grave, although she chose a casual crossed-legged sitting position as opposed to the _seiza_ sitting position that Aggro chose. "Is…is there a reason why we're visiting my cousin's grave?" Kara asked, prompting Aggro to turn to regard her, "Or why you're speaking aloud to my cousin's tombstone, as if he himself were still alive?"

"It's not unheard of for those visiting someone's grave to speak aloud as if they were speaking to the person whose grave they are visiting," Aggro remarked, "In fact, my own father is interred here at the cemetery, and I speak to his grave whenever I come to visit him." Giving Kara a wry look, Aggro continued, "I figured that you may want to have a chance to speak with your cousin while we were out and about today."

"I…I see," the thirteen-year-old girl replied, mildly at a loss. Kara turned to face Chandler's grave, prompting Aggro to do so as well. Seeing as how Aggro had already done so, Kara figured that she should give speaking to the grave a shot as well. "Umm…hey, Chandler," Kara began in a mildly unsure tone, "Umm…how's it going? Sorry that you ended up here, but if it makes you feel any better, you don't have to…go to school anymore?" Turning to face Aggro, Kara said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not good at this, Aggro."

"Take your time, young lady," Aggro replied in a gentle, understanding tone, "Even I had some confusion the first time I spoke to my father's grave."

Nodding once in understanding, Kara turned her attention back to the symbol of where her late cousin was laid to rest. "Umm…yeah," Kara said as she continued speaking to the grave, "I'm taking good care of your Playtendo Swap and all of the other video game stuff, as well as putting it all to good use, and I've also read through those books you had at least once each. I kind of had to sell your Yugioh cards and the other various collectables, given that me, mom and Aunt Luca are going to be in something of a money pinch since mom and Aunt Luca are both going through divorces right now. Sorry."

"If it makes you feel any better, young man," Aggro said to Chandler's grave, "I bought one of the Topologic Bomber Dragons off of your cousin. Gave her the current asking price for it, too. Rest assured that I will be keeping an eye on it for quite some time to come."

Jerking a thumb at Aggro, Kara said to Chandler's grave, "What he said." Sighing in a resigned tone, Kara said, "Look, Chandler. I learned a lot about you, about what you've done recently. To be honest, I'm kind of disgusted with some of the things I learned that you did. And I'm not just talking about the stuff where you tried screwing over that Francisco guy from my school, although most of the stuff that I learned about concerned that little rivalry that you had going with him. I mean, really. Just because you embarrassed yourself at your school when you were trying to show up that Rusty Spokes boy that was performing tricks with his fidget spinner doesn't give you an excuse to go and frame Rusty as a bully and ultimately get him expelled. Oh, the truth behind all of that nonsense got out and Rusty was reinstated as a student. But seriously. Why would you-"

Kara was cut off when both she and Aggro heard some crying coming from somewhere about two dozen or so feet away, crying that very clearly was coming from a girl younger than Kara. Kara and Aggro both looked over in the direction the crying saw coming from, and when they did, they saw Rusty's younger brother Rocky, Aggro's younger brother Argent, Lucy Loud, and two girls both younger than Lucy. The five kids were standing near one of the graves, the three eight-year-olds somewhat off to the side while the two youngest girls were standing more directly in front of the grave. It was one of the two youngest girls, who was holding a stuffed giraffe, that was crying, although the other young girl looked like she was having trouble holding it together as well.

"…Huh," Aggro remarked, "It seems that Argent and his friends are looking after Leni-chan's younger sister Lisa and some girl with a stuffed giraffe." Turning to face Kara, Aggro said, "Would it be okay if we go talk to them, see what they're up to?" Kara didn't object and proceeded to get up off from sitting on the ground along with Aggro, who collected his bokken carrying case and slip it back on over his back.

The two teenagers made their way over, and upon getting close enough, Aggro waved to get their attention. Lucy was the first to notice Aggro and Kara's arrival. "…You two were over at Rocky's place earlier," Lucy said as she pointed to Kara and Aggro, "You were both speaking with Rocky's older brother for a bit about something."

Nodding once in the affirmative, Aggro replied, "Right you are, Lucy." Gesturing to Kara, Aggro explained, "Kara here is the older cousin of the boy who got Rusty expelled, along with various other offences. I was taking Kara around so she could learn the full extent of what her cousin had done, in the hopes that she would refrain from causing similar damage herself." As Aggro spoke, the two younger girls turned to face him and Kara.

"This girl is Chandler's cousin?" the girl with the stuffed giraffe asked, tears streaking down the sides of her face.

"And you are…" Kara said, trailing off in a way that showed she expected to be filled in.

"That's my little sister Lisa's friend Darcy," Lucy explained, "Rocky, Argent and I brought Lisa and Darcy here so they could visit their friend's grave." Curious, Kara and Aggro both turned to face the grave that Lisa and Darcy stood in front of. It was a simple grave marker with the name Hugo Ashveil inscribed into it. Both Kara and Aggro were a bit unsettled to see that, according to the dates on the grave marker, Hugo was only four-years-old when he died.

"The death of a friend is not something that I would want anyone to go through," Aggro remarked as he shook his head gently, "But when it involves kids? And at that age, no less? That's even worse than Kara's cousin is buried in this cemetery. I brought Kara here so that she could visit her cousin's grave."

"Oh yeah," Lucy remarked casually, "Me and Lisa's older brother Lincoln told us about how he heard about that Chandler boy's funeral."

"Umm, excuse me girls," Kara began as she spoke to Lisa and Darcy, "If it's not too touchy a subject for me to ask about, do either of you know how your friend died?"

"Your cousin killed him," Darcy said simply, her tone very bitter and accusatory.

"Umm, okay," Kara replied, "I know that my cousin may have been a bit of a jerk, especially with everything I've learned about him recently, but I don't think that even Chandler would have ever gone as far as to straight up _murder_ someone, a four-year-old boy especially. Seriously, what sort of eleven-year-old boy would actually go and kill another human being, and one as young as four?"

"That's…not quite what Darcy meant," Lisa began to explain, "You see, me and Darcy's friend Hugo, whose grave marker is right next to us, took his own life due to being excessively bullied at our school."

"A four-year-old child was bullied to the point that he committed suicide?!" Aggro said, clearly taken aback by such a revelation.

Nodding twice in the affirmative, Lisa continued, "Due to Hugo taking his own life, the staff of Royal Woods Elementary School has cracked down on bullying harder than ever. Not only that, but at least two known bullies at school were ostracized to the point that they transferred out of school. Where those bullies went is beyond me. Anywho, my older sister Lana identified that Chandler boy and two of his pals as the bullies that drove Hugo to the point where he took his own life. However, the school staff said that they had never known Chandler to have done any wrong, so nothing became of Lana's accusations. …At least until very recently, where a lot of information about what Chandler had done was made public knowledge at Royal Woods Elementary. As it turned out, Chandler and his two friends actually _were_ the bullies that were responsible for Hugo committing suicide."

"Are…" Kara replied, both her tone and expression clearly conveying total shock that contained a noticeable hint of disgust, "…Are you kidding me? My cousin actually bullied a four-year-old kid until said kid killed himself?"

"Afraid so," Lisa replied. Gently pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, Lisa continued, "I hope that you never walk the same path as your late cousin, miss…umm…" Giving Kara a mildly curious look, Lisa asked, "What was your name again?"

"Kara," the thirteen-year-old girl replied, "My name's Kara."

"Right," Lisa said, "Anywho Kara, I hope you never follow in your late cousin's footsteps."

Gently shaking her head, Kara replied, "I don't intend to do any of the stuff that Chandler ever did. I'm intending to just stick to reading manga, watching anime, and playing video games."

"…You're like what me and Lisa's sister Lynn would be like if she had our brother Lincoln's interests, rather than an interest in sports," Lucy remarked. The gothic Loud sister's comment drew a nod of agreement out of Lisa.

"Well maybe I ought to meet up with this brother of yours," Kara remarked, her tone carrying mild amusement, "He sounds like one awesome guy to me." The two present Loud sisters, along with Rocky, Argent, Darcy and Aggro all nodded in agreement, albeit not in unison.

* * *

After a very long and very…educational…day, Kara returned home when Aggro dropped her off. The male Ace twin talked to Kara's mother Koby for a bit, then after Koby gave Aggro twenty bucks (apparently Aggro was being paid for being Kara's mentor, something that even Aggro himself wasn't aware of until that moment), the male Ace twin took his leave. After Aggro was gone, Koby closed the front door, and turned around to face her daughter, who was sitting over at the table with Luca.

"So, Kara," Koby began, "How was your time with your mentor today?"

"It was insightful, to say the least," Kara replied, "He even took me to visit Chandler's grave over at the cemetery, since he figured that I might want to get some sort of closure."

"Oh, well isn't that nice of him," Koby remarked as she walked over and sat down at the table, "Is there anything else?" There actually was something else. A whole lot of something else, really. But Kara wasn't in all that much of a mood to go over everything, so the thirteen-year-old girl simply shook her head in the negative. "I see," Koby replied in a kind and understanding tone, "I won't push you, then. Oh, before I forget, I need to tell you and your aunt something that will be happening tomorrow."

"Oh?" Luca remarked in a tone of piqued interest, "Watch'a got going on tomorrow, sis?"

"I'm…having someone over," Koby replied, a faint hint of blushing spreading across her face.

"You found someone to take the place of your bastard husband already?" Luca said in a clearly amused tone, "And you aren't even officially divorced yet! You go, girl!" Leaning forward in a way that clearly showed she wanted to press for information, Luca asked, "So tell me, Koby, what's his name?"

"_Her_ name is Tori," Koby replied, drawing mildly surprised looks out of both Luca and Kara.

"So…" Kara remarked, "…I'm going to end up with two moms?"

"If things with Tori go as I hope that they do, then yes," Koby replied, "You'll have two moms, Kara."

"Well as long as she doesn't try to do what dad did, then I have no objections," Kara said, "I'm looking forward to meeting her." This drew an amused smile out of Koby, one that also carried a noticeable hint of appreciation for the support her daughter was showing.

"Well I hope she's just as much of a dear as you are," Luca said to her sister, "You deserve someone nice, rather than the bastard you're divorcing from right now." Koby nodded once to Luca in a manner that conveyed thanks and appreciation. Shortly after Luca and Kara both voiced their support for Koby's current endeavor, the three women decided to have dinner. For once, since the issues of Chandler's funeral and the divorce hearings popped up, Kara, her mother and her aunt were actually having a nice night. It was just what the three of them needed.

END, SCARS OF THE BROKEN MIRROR: KARA'S STORY CHAPTER THREE

Author's notes:

I'm currently aiming for the next chapter to include a scene where Kara speaks to at least one of Chandler's goon-friends, but other than that, I'm planning on wrapping things up in the next chapter. I never intended for this story to go on for too long, as it's something of an epilogue to 'Broken Mirror: New War'. But then again, this _is _only the first story in the 'Broken Mirror scars' anthology, so there will be a few more tales in this series to come. Never let it be said that I am not a person of my word.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Scars of the Broken Mirror: Kara's Story

Chapter four: Settling business

Kara, a thirteen-year-old girl who lives in Royal Woods, Michigan and goes to Royal Woods Middle School, was waiting to be picked up one day after school had let out. Kara was waiting with a number of students who, despite not technically being Kara's friends (yet), would still have her back all the same. This is because Kara's mom and dad are in the middle of getting divorce and Kara's dad isn't supposed to come anywhere near Kara, but yet he tried to pick her up from school a couple of days back. For all anyone could tell, this might have ended up with Kara being kidnapped, and from school grounds, no less. This is why there are also at least two school security officers waiting with the students.

As the middle schoolers waited for their respective rides, Aggro's car pulled up, prompting Kara and her schoolmate Alphonse, who is the younger brother of Aggro, to head over. The window on the passenger side door rolled down, and when it was low enough, Aggro said from the driver's seat, "Alright, you two. Let's get going. Alphonse, mom wants you and everyone else home as soon as possible, and Kara, your mother wants me to bring you home straight away."

"Got it," Kara replied as both she and Alphonse nodded in understanding. Alphonse took to the passenger seat while Kara took to the backseat, and once everyone was buckled up, Aggro took off from the middle school.

* * *

The following school day, Kara was sitting on one of the outdoor bleachers during lunch as some other students ran around the field playing some sort of sport. Kara wasn't paying attention to the sport playing, given that she was reading a book. She could have gone to the school's library to read, but she actually wanted to read outside today.

The sky was clear. The air was cool. A gentle breeze blew across the area, making the flag on the nearby flag pole flap. Aside from the noise being made by the kids playing that sport, it would have been absolutely perfect for the thirteen-year-old girl. As it stood, it was still a comfortable and overall pleasant experience, so she wasn't going to complain.

As she read, Kara looked up when she heard two boys talking. Looking over, Kara spotted the two boys, and was able to identify them as Ulfric Aesir and his friend Benny; Kara knew what their names were since Alphonse pointed them out to her once, along with the fact that Kara often saw Lynn and Luan Loud hang near them for some odd reason. It was Ulfric who the thirteen-year old girl first heard talking.

"…Aye, I'm afraid so, Benny," Ulfric remarked, his accent bringing to mind powerful and mighty warriors from a northern land of snow and cold, "Aside from that incident involving the baseball team he used to belong to, that Francisco fellow was set up on everything that we all thought that he was guilty of. That includes the incident where you were buried under an avalanche of props in that backstage area of the stage in the gymnasium."

"You…you can't be serious, dude," Benny said, his tone clearly expressing disbelief.

Gently shaking his head, Ulfric replied, "Lynn and her sister have in their possession a journal that used to belong to a boy named Chandler. That Chandler boy confesses in his writings that he was the true guilty party, and that he had used that Francisco fellow as a fall guy due to wanting to try and make Francisco and his family look bad. I believe something about Chandler's father and Francisco's father competing for a promotion at work had something to do with it."

"So, if Francisco is really innocent, then he should get out of Juvie, right?" Benny asked. Kara saw as Benny's question drew a gently head shake in the negative from Ulfric.

"Francisco, due to letting his temper get the better of him, chased down and beat up that Chandler boy," Ulfric explained, "I learned that said incident wasn't a set up, but even if it were, it wouldn't get around the fact that Francisco _did_ assault a child who was both younger and smaller than him." Crossing his arms over his chest, Ulfric said, "Francisco will still have to serve that time over at Juvie, I'm afraid. But if it makes you feel any better, we can expect to see him in time for him to start his freshman year at the high school."

His gaze slowly falling to the ground, Benny said, "Well, that's a darn shame. I guess it will be a while before I can apologize to him for having suspected him." Ulfric placed his left hand on Benny's right shoulder, getting the eighth-grade boy to look up at him. The foreign-born seventh-grade boy nodded a few times in an understanding manner, showing that his feelings on the matter were similar to those of Benny's. As the two boys continued to talk, Kara turned her attention back to the book she had.

That Chandler boy that Benny and Ulfric were talking about was actually Kara's younger cousin. The reason why the past tense 'was' is being used here is because Chandler actually died a few weeks back in a home invasion in the middle of the night. According to the seven men who broke into Chandler's family's house, Chandler was already dead by the time they found him. If what the men say is true, then Chandler had committed suicide. …But given that this is the word of seven grown men who all broke into the house with the intention of killing everyone they found inside, which would have included Chandler, there wasn't a single person living in Royal Woods who actually believed any of the seven men.

With both the home invasion and what the seven men were insisting, Kara figured that there was no real way to know for sure how her cousin really died, aside from the fact that according to the coroner that performed the autopsy, cyanide was involved. A sudden gust of the cool, relaxing wind made Kara look up into the sky; the thirteen-year-old girl saw a couple of clouds float on by, along with a white bird fly across her field of view. Kara thought that seeing that white bird, which some people believe has significant symbolic value, fly on across her field of view had to be some sort of coincidence, so she paid it no mind and returned her attention to her book.

Another gust of wind made Kara look up into the sky again.

* * *

Kara was accompanying Aggro, her mentor slash big brother figure because Kara's mother Koby was worried about her due to the various divorces going on in the family plus Chandler's death, to the local card and comic store. It was a popular place for people of all ages, and Kara found at least two manga graphic novels that she's been wanting to buy. After paying for said manga, Kara found a place to sit and read while Aggro ended up obliging a random child who wanted to challenge him to a game of Yugioh.

Kara finished reading one of the graphic novels she bought, and deciding to take a break from her reading, she got up and went over to see how that game Aggro was playing was going. To Kara's surprise, the boy who challenged Aggro was one of Chandler's goon-friends; it was the blonde boy who was noticeably (but not excessively) well-fed. Apparently, the current game was on Aggro's turn.

Taking a look at what was on the field after he drew a card from his deck, Aggro said, "I'm going to have my Topologic Bomber Dragon attack directly, and that should be game unless you can stop the attack."

"Yeah, I got nothing," Chandler's blonde goon-friend remarked after checking the two face-down cards he had. After the game ended in Aggro's favor, Chandler's blonde goon-friend took a look at the time on his wrist watch and, with his eyes widening a bit out of surprise, promptly proceeded to gather up his cards. "I got to get going," Chandler's blonde goon-friend said, a hint of somberness in his tone, "I have to go visit my grandmother as part of some punishment my parents gave me for being mean to a younger kid at my school."

"If you're being punished for something like that," Aggro began to remark in a dry tone as he gathered up his own cards, "Then I'm surprised that you were allowed to come here to the card and comic shop in the first place."

"My…parents have no idea I was even here," Chandler's blonde goon-friend explained, a hint of embarrassment in his tone, "Granted, they haven't told me that I'm not allowed to come here while I'm being punished, but that won't stop them from getting mad if I was late getting to my grandmother's place because I stopped off here first."

"…Your secret's safe with me," the male Ace twin replied, drawing a hint of relief out of Chandler's blonde goon-friend.

"Thanks, man," Chandler's blonde goon-friend said, "Hey, before I go, I want to ask you something. You're Astrid Ace's older brother, right?"

"I am," Aggro answered.

"My pal Chandler, who I told you about earlier, was actually dating Astrid before he died," Chandler's blonde-goon friend said, "I just wanted to ask how Astrid's doing."

"…The last I knew of Chandler before he passed away," Aggro replied with a hint of bitterness seeping into his tone, "He got Astrid sent to the hospital because he bought her something to eat at a carnival that contained too much sugar for Astrid. She recovered soon enough, but Astrid didn't get out of Royal Woods General until after news of Chandler's passing got out." With his expression and tone lightening up a bit, Aggro continued, "As it stands right now, Astrid is trying to win the affections of this dark-skinned boy with glasses at her school. I don't remember the boy's name off the top of my head, but I do know that the boy is friends with my girlfriend Leni-chan's younger brother."

"Oh, so Astrid's been able to move on," Chandler's blonde goon-friend remarked, the somber hint that was in his tone returning, "That's…that's good." After putting his cards into a deck box and putting the deck box into a backpack, Chandler's blonde goon-friend said, "Well, take care, Astrid's brother. Maybe we'll duel each other in a tournament here at the store."

"I'm not one to object to some friendly competition," the male Ace twin replied as he waved Chandler's blonde goon-friend good-bye. After the goon-friend took his leave, Kara came walking over to Aggro. The goon-friend never even noticed that his late friend's older cousin was in the shop.

"What were you guys talking about after he lost?" Kara asked.

"That boy, along with at least one other child, is being punished for their role in bullying a younger boy at the elementary school," Aggro explained, a hint of somber bitterness in his tone, "It wasn't until my younger brother Argent told me that I discovered that those boys are the ones who drove that Hugo Ashveil boy to the point where he took his own life."

"Did he say anything else?" Kara asked.

"Well he did say how he, along with the rest of your late cousin's friends, are now social pariahs at school since word of what they had a hand in got out," the male Ace twin remarked, his tone shifting to one of indifference as he crossed his arms over his chest, "I think the blonde-haired boy even said how one of the boys even decided to transfer schools, just to get away from all of the jeering that was being tossed in his and their direction."

Hearing that part drew a bit of a somber look out of Kara. The thirteen-year-old girl had heard that her late cousin's goon-friends became social outcasts over at their school due to what they had done with Chandler. This was especially true for the two boys that helped Chandler bully a four-year-old boy from the school's Kindergarten class to the point where said four-year-old took his own life. Even though Chandler's goon-friends were being made to account for their misdeeds, Kara still could not help but feel sorry for them. After all, they're all boys that are all around eleven years of age; that's kind of young for someone to be a social pariah.

"…You seemed troubled, Kara," Aggro remarked as he observed the thirteen-year-old girl's expression, snapping Kara out of her thoughts and back to reality, "Is there something that you wish to talk about?"

Gently shaking her head in the negative, Kara replied, "No, it's…it's just that I can't help but feel sorry about how my cousin's friends are being shunned by everyone at school."

"Kids can be cruel, Kara," Aggro remarked in a neutral tone, "Granted, with what they heard about your late cousin's friends, one cannot truly blame them. But I understand what you're trying to get at. Those boys are still kids themselves." After putting his deck box away, Aggro got up from where he sat. "Well, we still have some time before I'm expected to bring you back home, and if I recall correctly, you said you wanted to grab some ice cream from Frozen King."

Kara's expression lightened up a bit upon hearing the male Ace twin mention ice cream. Nodding once in the affirmative, Kara said, "Yeah, I wouldn't want to miss out on it."

* * *

That Friday, Kara was at home after she got back from RWMS. After finishing her homework (it wasn't all that much of a challenge for her), Kara went to her bedroom. Seeing as how it would be a good few hours before dinner, the thirteen-year-old girl figured that she had some time to burn, so she went right to her Playtendo Swap.

Now_ this_ was how to spend a Friday after getting home from school and finishing any homework. With an entire weekend ahead of her, Kara intended to spend it how she would like; video games. Granted, there was a scheduled time Kara's mother Koby set up for Kara to hang out with Aggro, but those times were just as enjoyable. Plus, it helped that the male Ace twin was a surprisingly cool-

"Hey, Kara!" Koby's voice called out, prompting Kara to pause her video game, "I just got back with Tori! Anywho, we got a surprise for you!" The thirteen-year-old girl could not help but crack a smile; despite how both Kara's mom and Kara's aunt were getting divorced from their respective husbands, and with how Kara's cousin Chandler had died, Kara herself felt that things were starting to get better for her family. Getting up from where she sat on her bedroom floor (using the style that Aggro used when they were visiting Chandler's grave), Kara made a beeline for her bedroom door. Opening the door, Kara ran out of her room and out to the living room, wanting to see what her mother and soon-to-be stepmother had to show her.

END, SCARS OF THE BROKEN MIRROR: KARA'S STORY

Author's notes:

Well, there you have it. This was a short little bit of a story detailing the results of the end of 'Broken Mirror: New War' from the point of view of a seemingly random OC. I know that I said that I wanted to try and work in Kara meeting with one of Chandler's goon-friends in this chapter, but with how I ended up writing this chapter, that just didn't end up happening, so sorry to anyone who was looking forward to that happening.

Anywho, now that this tale has come to as quiet and respectful of an end as I could manage, I can now focus on other things, including more stories to put up such as the next story in the 'Broken Mirror scars' anthology, which I should have the first chapter of up soon. Here's hoping you guys got a kick out of the story and will hopefully get a kick out of my other/future works.

By the way, in case any of you were wondering, the surprise was Kara meeting Tori's brother Francis and Francis's domestic partner Thomas.


End file.
